Utrecht's Pre-season Friendlies

08 July 2002

Date Opponent Where Kickoff 06/07 Desto Away 10/07 mini-tournament  Away 20:00  14/07 Emmen Away 14:30  17/07 BV Veendam Away 19:00 20/07 Regioteam de Wolden Away 14:30 23/07 Borussia Mönchengladbach  Home 19:00  27/07 Cambuur Leeuwarden Away 19:30 31/07 Elinkwijk Away 19:30 3/4/08 Hannover'96  Away Unknown 10/08 Southampton  Away Unknown

Utrecht win first friendly

06 July 2002

Utrecht have won their first friendly 11-0 against amateurs DESTO. They put away 8 goals before the break with hattricks for Roiha and Kuijt while Jordy Zuidam, who's returned from a loan-spell at Go Ahead Eagles, put on a strong performance and put away a goal too.

Vreven and Wapenaar stay with Utrecht

28 Jun 2002

Stijn Vreven has decided to stay at Utrecht after earlier threatening to leave the Domstad side as a result of his unhappiness with the departure of coach Frans Adelaar. The fact that no other clubs have shown an interest in him has persuaded the Belgian defender to stay where he is - for the time being! Only a month ago Vreven was talking about a possible move to the English Premiership but both he and goalie Harald Wapenaar, who'd also considered leaving when Adelaar left, will continue playing for Utrecht.

RBC add Oliseh plus Heije and Piqué

14 Jun 2002

RBC Roosendaal are reinforcing their defence in preparation for their 2nd Ere Divisie adventure and, after already signing David Nascimento and Melvin Fleur, have added Utrecht's Azubuike Oliseh plus Ajax's wing-defenders Pascal Heije and Mitchell Piqué to their squad for next season. Two seasons ago RBC let in 90 goals and have no intention on making the same mistake again! Oliseh was under contract at the Domstad side till 2003, and has been allowed a free-transfer after spending the last few months on loan to Finnish side FC Jokerit. Piqué has only played 4 matches in 3 seasons for Ajax, was on loan to Haarlem last season where the 22 year-old played 14 matches and the season before that was on loan to Twente. RBC have now acquired 4 defenders and are looking to add another two Den Bosch players to the squad.

Foeke Booy new Utrecht trainer

26 May 2002

Foeke Booy has been confirmed as Utrecht's new trainer as the club's assistant-trainer steps in for Frans Adelaar who resigned last weekend. Technical director Han Berger, the man who'd been in conflict with Adelaar for much of last season, nominated Booy as the man for the job. The 40 year-old former striker has a wealth of experience as a player with Cambuur Leeuwarden, De Graafschap, Groningen, Club Brugge, AA Gent and Utrecht, added to his experience looking after the Domstad side's A-youth team during the last four years.

Foeke Booy to take over at Utrecht

20 May 2002

Foeke Booy looks set to take over as Utrecht's new trainer after the club's technical director Hans Berger announced yesterday during Dutch TV programme "'t Hek van de Dam"  that the 40 year-old is the no.1 candidate to succeed Frans Adelaar who resigned last week. "Firstly we'll be holding talks with Booy to see if he's at all interested in the job before looking further". The Frieslander is currently Adelaar's assistant in the Nieuw Galgenwaard and has the required coaching qualifications to take the job if he wants! The former Cambuur, Groningen and Club Brugge player also turned out for Utrecht, where he ended his playing career before becoming a member of the technical staff at the club.

Frans Adelaar resigns at Utrecht

17 May 2002

Trainer Frans Adelaar has asked Utrecht to terminate his contract which runs till 2003. The club is considering his request and, for the time being, neither side is giving a reason for his wish to leave the Domstad side. It's possible that the uneasy relationship between the 41 year-old and the club's technical director Han Berger is the underlying problem! The two were in conflict last October when Berger hired out his son Ruud to Cambuur without consulting Adelaar beforehand. Negotiations for the trainer's contract extension earlier this season were also less than smooth! The former Utrecht player has been in charge since March 2000 when he took over from Mark Wotte, who left to work for the Dutch FA ( KNVB). After a slow start he took the team into Europe last season but it was a huge disappointment when the team were denied the Amstel Cup due to a linesman's blunder! Nevertheless, Utrecht  will be playing European football again next season!

Twente beat Utrecht 2-0

28 Apr 2002

Twente lineup: Boschker, Van der Weerden, Grujic, El-Brazi, Heubach, Cziommer, Ten Hag, Van der Doelen, Van der Laan, Booth, Van de Paar. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Schut, Van Mol, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, Van den Bergh, Roiha, Gluscevic. Second half goals by Björn van der Doelen, on the hour (60th), and Jack de Gier (67th) gave the "Tukkers" a much needed win (they've not had many of those this season) that lifts them into 10th place on 41 points, dislodging Willem II who lost at Vitesse. Utrecht get knocked off 6th into 7th place by NAC 's win against Eerste Divisie bound Fortuna .

Ajax don't want Amstel Cup Final in Kuip

26 Apr 2002

Ajax are reportedly so concerned at the prospect of clashes between groups of rival Feyenoord, Utrecht and Ajax 'supporters' before, during and after the Amstel Cup Final planned for May 12th in Rotterdam that they have asked the KNVB (Dutch FA) to stage the match somewhere/anywhere else or even go so far as to cancel it altogether!!! Dutch Supporters organisation SOVS (Samenwerkende Organisaties Voetbalsupporters) has asked the Mayor of Rotterdam Mr.Opstelten to reconsider and allocate Ajax fans 15,000 tickets instead of the current 5,900 (due to the same fear of crowd troubles) but have also requested that the match take place at another venue in order to minimize the risk!

Utrecht beat AZ 3-2

24 Apr 2002

Utrecht Lineup: Harald Wapenaar, Stijn Vreven, Patrick Zwaanswijk, Robert Roest, Tom van Mol, Jean-Paul de Jong, Pascal Bosschaart, Stefaan Tanghe (58. Paulus Roiha),Dave van den Bergh, Igor Gluscevic (86. Karim Touzani), Dirk Kuyt. AZ Lineup: Oscar Moens, Jannes Wolters, Peter Wijker, Barry Opdam, Abdelkrimn El Hadrioui(74. Ali Elkhattabi), Reinier Robbemond, Michael Buskermolen, Olaf Lindenbergh,Kenneth Perez (74. Jamal Dibi), Robin Nelisse, Max Huiberts. Utrecht and AZ put on a good show in an entertaining 5 goal game. Although Utrecht was the better of the 2 teams in the 1st half it was AZ thatd the score. The visitors were awarded a free- kick on the edge of the penalty area after a foul by Belgian Tom de Mol. Max Huiberts polished the ball with his shirt- cuff before placing the ball on the turf. With 'Van Hooidonk-like' precision he then curled the ball over the wall of defenders into the back of the net. 7 minutes after the break Utrecht equalized when Glusevic nodded in his 14th of the season but, only 2 minutes later, AZ took the lead again. Robin Nelisse spurted down the entire right wing and finished off his impressive solo-run with a low, hard shot into the far corner of the Utrecht goal. Trailing 1-2, but with their loyal support to encourage them, Utrecht pressed forward for the equalizer. In the 66th minute, Dirk Kuyt received the ball on the edge of the box, dribbled past 3 AZ defenders before firing a shot that flew into the top left- hand corner of the goal. 3 minutes later Glusevic was once again on target.  Kuyt picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and crossed to Gluscevic who nodded in from close range. His header first hit the crossbar and then ricocheted off goalkeeper Moens back before landing in the back of the net for the 3 - 2.

 

Ajax beat Utrecht 1-0

21 Apr 2002

Ajax lineup: Grim, Trabelsi, Bergdølmo, Chivu, O'Brien, Van der Meyde, Galásek, Van Halst, Maxwell, Machlas and Mido. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, Touzani, Jochemsen, Bosschaart, Gluscevic and Kuijt. Ajax stay clear after this 1-0 against Utrecht in the ArenA! The match finally kicked-off 30 minutes late due to the chaos created by all the extra security measures taken by Ajax after the recent riots during the Ajax 2 - Utrecht Amstel Cup quarter-final. Everyone has to identify themselves before getting in! All the Utrecht supporters were escorted back to the trains because they had no identification with them and their team had to play without support! From the whistle Ajax were motivated and hungry, fighting for every ball and, when they lost possession, making sure they got it back a.s.a.p. Van Halst picked up a yellow card after only 2 minutes but was working his ass off though throughout the match and formed, together with Andy van der Meyde, the twin-cylinders in the Ajax motor today. Ajax had more than their fare share of chances to create a substantial lead in the 1st half as they dominated play. Well, 'walk like an Egyptian' if it wasn't 'Mido' who finally scored the vital match-winner, after missing several others, for the Amsterdammers in the 40th minute. A nice piece of work by John O'Brien set him up and he shot diagonally into goal. Utrecht made a much improved impression after the break, as you would expect, and came close to scoring as Ajax fell back in defence. The Amsterdammers had their own chances through Machlas and substitute Zlatan but both gentlemen failed to find the back of the net. Petri Pasnanen came on, after almost a year's absence through injury, as substitute for his first appearance. Ajax held on till the final whistle and keep a healthy distance between them and the opposition. That Ere Divisie title gets closer all the time with only two matches to go!

Wapenaar to end career with Utrecht

16 Apr 2002

Harald Wapenaar wants to end his playing career with Utrecht and is currently negotiating a new contract which will run for a maximum of 5 years. The 32 year-old goalie is happy in the Domstad and expects to hang up his boots when the new deal has expired.

Utrecht beat RKC 2-1

14 Apr 2002

Utrecht Lineup:Harald Wapenaar, Stijn Vreven, Patrick Zwaanswijk, Pascal Bosschaart, Stefaan Tanghe, Jean Paul de Jong (70th Robert Roest), Arno Arts (70th Tom van Mol), Dirk Kuyt, Igor Gluscevic (77th Arco Jochemsen), Dave van den Bergh, Karim Touzani. RKC Lineup: Rob van Dijk, Michael Lamey, Patrick van Diemen, Peter van den Berg, Garry de Graef, Virgilio Texeira (84th Giovanni Franken), Zeljko Petrovic (80th Ivar van Dinteren), Dejan Govedarica, Yuri Cornelisse (88th John van Loenhout), Rick Hoogendorp, Jochen Janssen. Utrecht dominated the 1st half but it took until the 31st minute before Igor Gluscevicd the score. The Domstad side should have netted another 2 or 3 goals in the 1st half but RKC's keeper Van Dijk kept his team in the match with a number of fine saves including stopping a Dirk Kuyt spot shot. Although Patrick van Diemen equalized in the 54th minute Utrecht kept pressing forward and, in the 79th, they scored again. Stefaan Tanghe picked up the ball after Van Dijk had fumbled it and shot hard  into thegoal.

Utrecht let Spaan and Furfaro go

08 Apr 2002

Utrecht are letting youth players Robert Spaan and Nino Furfaro go this summer. The goalie and striker play for Jong FC Utrecht but now join Hakim Chatouani, Mounir L'Fathi and Wesley van Maren (who were all told last month they could leave the club) in the search for a new employer.  Luckier by far are Bas van den Brink, Max Lohy and keeper Joost Terol who've all signed a new deal for one more year.

No more tickets for Ajax II - Utrecht

27 Mar 2002

Ajax has halted the sale of tickets for Friday's Amstel Cup semi-final between Ajax's reserve side and Utrecht. Ajax believe there could be problems in the ArenA after the police in Utrecht warned Ajax officials that a number of Utrecht    'troublemakers' had managed to obtain tickets for Ajax's notorious 'F-side' stand (home to the hardcore Ajax fans).

De Graafschap draw with Utrecht 0 - 0

25 Mar 2002

De Graafschap are also a club needing points to help them steer clear of the playoff zone and Utrecht are seeking points for European football next season. They both got 1 point yesterday afternoon in the "Vijverberg", not enough I fear for either of their aspirations.

Utrecht beat Fortuna 3 - 0

17 Mar 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Jean-Paul de Jong, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Jochemsen, Van Mol, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Kuijt and Gluscevic. Fortuna lineup: Hesp, Van der Hoeven, Akerboom, Volmer, Hermans, Meszaros, Rook, Gerritsen, Landerl, Simons and Cramb. Fortuna were reduced to 10 men in the 15th when Regilio Simons got a red card but Utrecht, who've failed to impress since the winter break, simply couldn't seem to get into gear and take advantage of their numerical advantage. The Sittardians managed to hold on till just before half-time when Patrick Zwaanswijk headed in from a Van den Bergh corner for the 1 - 0. Igor Gluscevic added a 2nd in the 67th from anothet piece of Van den Bergh work and Stefaan Tanghe made it 3 - 0 in the 90th. The final score was flattering for the Domstad side as this was not one of their better performances. Unfortunate Fortuna notch up their 18th defeat of the season while Utrecht side stay in 7th on 40 points from 27 games.

Ere Divisie Friendly Roundup

13 Mar 2002

Utrecht drew 1 - 1 in their friendly against Swedish side Örgryte last night thanks to a goal by Dave van den Bergh.

Utrecht beat Sparta 4 - 2

08 Mar 2002

Utrecht lineup: Ponk, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Schut, Bosschaart, Van Mol, De Jong, Arts, Jochemsen, Gluscevic and Kuijt. Sparta lineup: Kros, Marília, Mendes, Nieuwenburg, Zijm, Bouchiba, Winter, Langerak, Boukhari, Sanou and Koevermans. Utrecht stay on course for European football, moving one place up the table from 8th to 7th place on 31 points from 26 played but RKC have a game in hand and are away to Heerenveen tomorrow. Sparta fought hard but stay in 17th place on 23 points from 26 played. Stijn Vreven was a driving force down the right wing tonight, his cross rounded off with a fine header by Dirk Kuijt the 22nd minute. A minute later his hasty back pass to goalie René Ponk ended up in the back of the net for an own goal but the popular Belgian made up for it by scoring in the 45th. Sparta came back after the break and Michel Langerak scored the equalizer in the 56th. Substitute Dave van den Bergh's shot was flicked back, and past goalie Kros, by Marília for an own goal to put the Domstad side back in front in the 64th and Arco Jochemsen added a 4th in the 71st. It's Utrecht's first home win since December 23rd while Sparta haven't won a match since November 28th.

Broerse off to Utrecht in 2003/2004

09 Mar 2002

Joost Broerse has just extended his deal with Groningen for another season while simultaneously announcing that he's going to be joining Utrecht in the 2003/2004 season. The 22 year-old midfielder returns to play for his former club, whom he left to join Groningen in 1997, on a contract for 3 seasons. While with Utrecht he never actually played for the 1st team but he did  make his debut for Groningen against PSV in November 1997 and, since then, the Jong Oranje player has become a regular feature of the team.

Willem II beat Utrecht 4 - 2

02 Mar 2002

Willem II lineup: De Vlieger, Jaliens, J. Mathijsen, Van Nieuwstadt, Janssens, Landzaat, D. Mathijssen, Caluwé, Ceesay, Bombarda and Shoukov. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Bosschaart, Van Mol, Schut, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Shew A Tjon, Jochemsen, Gluscevic and Kuijt.   Utrecht went ahead in the 14th minute through Stefaan Tanghe, rounding off Igor Gluscevic's pass as the visitors seemed to be heading for an away win. They were soon woken robbed of their illusion with a nice shot but Chris Janssens equalized from a freekick in the 33rd. Harald Wapenaar earned himself a red card when he brought down Kew Jaliens in the 55th minute and disappeared for an early shower, reducing the Domstad side to 10 men and giving Denny Landzaat the chance to put the "Tricolores" ahead with a spot-shot in the 56th.  Willem II got more of a grip on the match from then on and Tom Caluwé added a 3rd goal in the 70th minute. Mariano Bombarda was brought down in the area so that Landzaat could put away his 2nd penalty of the evening in the 76th for the 4 - 1. Paulus Roiha blasted in a 2nd for Utrecht in the 81st for the 4 - 2. The win gives the Tilburg side a very welcome 3 points that takes them from 13th to 9th place on 31 points from 25 played. Utrecht will be annoyed not to have taken home at least a point and stay in 7th on 34 points from 25. They haven't won since 1994 in Tilburg and remain without a win at all since the start fo the 2nd half of the season

Utrecht target Jürgen Dirckx

27 Feb 2002

Dutch regional newspaper "De Limburger" is running a story that PSV's Jürgen Dirckx, currently on loan to Fortuna, is being targeted by Utrecht. The 26 year-old defender played for PSV as a youth player, turning out for Fortuna between 1995 and 1998 before returning to Eindhoven in 1998 where he's become superfluous under Eric Gerets.

PSV go 2nd after 4 - 0 against Utrecht

24 Feb 2002

PSV lineup: Lodewijks, Bøgelund, Ooijer, Hofland, Bouma, Rommedahl, Vogel, Van Bommel, Gakhokidze, John de Jong and Vennegoor of Hesselink. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Schut, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Jochemsen, Van den Bergh and Kuijt. A hattrick by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink makes the striker Ere Divisie top scorer on 18 goals scored and takes PSV into 2nd place, on 46 points from 24 games played, after this win against Utrecht.  PSV dominated the early play but failed to find the back of the net, Vennegoor's best-of-the-bunch hit the woodwork. Pivotal moment in the match was when Jean-Paul de Jong got sent off in the 39th for arguing with the referee, picking up his 2nd yellow card in the process, and reducing Utrecht to 10 men. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink put away hisr to give the home team the lead in the 45th minute, Mateja Kezman adding a 2nd in the 70th, with Vennegoor getting his 2nd in the 81st and 3rd in the 90th. Utrecht drop to 8th on 34 points from 25 played.

Patrick Zaanswijk gets two match ban

14 Feb 2002

Utrecht's Patrick Zwaanswijk has been banned for 3 matches, one of which is conditional, for his red card in the recent 1 - 4 home defeat by NEC when he brought down Frank Demouge for his 2nd yellow card of the game, and 5th of the season, in injury time. The 27 year-old defender will miss the coming matches against PSV and Willem II.

Utrecht lose unbeaten record to NEC

10 Feb 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Touzani, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuijt. NEC lineup: Gentenaar, Schuurman, Hesp, Wisgerhof, Maes, Simr, Wielaert, Latuheru, Ax, Dennis de Nooijer and Demouge. Utrecht must have been wondering what the hell happened as they woke up, as if from a nightmare, to find themselves 0 - 3 down (at home of all places) after only 7 minutes. Patrick Ax put away the 1st in theng minute, Danny Hesp added a 2nd in the 3rd and Ax got his 2nd in the 6th minute for the 0 - 3 knockout. Paulus Roiha got one back in the 65th but Frank Demouge restored the gap with a 4th for the Nijmegen side in the 68th. Patrick Zwaanswijk was sent off just before time in the 88th. The surprise defeat ends the Domstad side's long unbeaten home record and they stay where they are in 8th place on 34 points from 23 played and NEC move up one place to 9th on 29 from 22 played.

Roda beat Utrecht 1 - 0

06 Feb 2002

Roda lineup: Kalac, Sonkaya, Vrede, Rudge, Luijpers, Van Dessel, Lachambre, Tchoutang, Vandenbroeck, Nygaard and Anastasiou. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Touzani, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Tanghe, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Kuijt and Gluscevic. Harald Wapenaar put in a tremendous performance tonight to stop Roda handing out any more punishment than the one goal by Sven Vandenbroeck goal in the 73rd. The home team were determined to erase their 5 - 0 defeat by Feyenoord at the weekend and attacked from the whistle. Bernard Tchoutang and Vandenbroeck had 1st half attempts go just wide and Anastasiou had his header saved. Utrecht got a couple of chances of their own but Dirk Kuijt was off target. After the break the 'Kerkrade Crew' continued to look sharper but Wapenaar was not to be passed, saving shots by Anastasiou, Nygaard and Tchoutang before Vandenbroeck's winner got through. Roda go into 15th on 25 points from 22 played while Utrecht drop to 6th on 34 from 22.

Utrecht and Heerenveen in stalemate 0 - 0

03 Feb 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Touzani, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. Heerenveen lineup: Ditewig, Venema, Klompe, Gérard de Nooijer, Edman, Radomski, Selakovic, Jensen, Nurmela, Allbäck and Lurling. Utrecht knocked the Frieslanders out of the Amstel Cup on Wednesday evening but this repeat meeting in the league so soon after their quarter-final encounter proved to be too much of a good thing because neither side were able to find the back of the net. Nonetheless both teams improve their ranking,  Heerenveen go 4th on 36 points from 21 played while Utrecht are now 5th on 34 from 21.

Utrecht beat Heerenveen 3 - 1 in Cup

30 Jan 2002

Utrecht are through to the semi-finals of the Amstel Cup after a 3 - 1 win against Heerenveen. Erik Edman put the Frieslanders ahead in the 41st, Pascal Bosschaart levelled the score for Utrecht in the 45th and two more goals from Igor Gluscevic in the 67th and Dirk Kuyt in the 90th gave the Domstad side the victory. Foppe de Haan and his boys will be wondering what happened, especially after Anthony Lurling saw his spot-shot saved by Harald Wapenaar - if it had gone in it would have made the score 2 - 2. Utrecht were reduced to 10 men for the last 20 minutes when Karim Touzani got his marching orders but Heerenveen were unable to profit from their numerical advantage and when Kuyt put away the injury time winner the Domstad went wild and the celebrations began!

Utrecht and Feyenoord draw 2 - 2

27 Jan 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuyt. Feyenoord lineup: Zoetebier, Emerton, De Haan, Paauwe, Rzasa, Elmander, Bosvelt, Van Wonderen, Ono, Tomasson, and Van Hooijdonk. Utrecht hold on to their unbeaten at home record with this 2 - 2 against Feyenoord. Danish international Jon Dahl Tomasson (almost-certainly-leaving-the-Kuip this summer)d the score for the visitors after only 2 minutes, Dave van den Bergh quickly equalizing for the Domstad side in the 5th in an explosive start to the match. In the rest of the 1st half Utrecht showed more daring than the visitors but were only able to come up with some distance shots that proved no problem for Edwin Zoetebier until Stefaan Tanghe nosed them ahead in the 37th. The 2nd half was tame fare and neither side looked threatening so Pierre van Hooijdonk's header came literally out-of-the-blue in the 62nd to give the Rotterdammers a point to take home.

Utrecht sign Sigmundur Kristjansson

28 Jan 2002

Utrecht have signed the Icelander Sigmundur Kristjansson on a contract for 2 years - he currently plays for FC Throttur from Reykjavik. The youth international, who's already been for a visit and a trial to the Domstad last year, will report for duty at the beginning of next season when he'll be stalled with Jong Utrecht.

Adelaar extends stay with Utrecht

24 Jan 2002

After long and difficult negotiations looked to have ended in stalemate, Frans Adelaar has extended his contract with Utrecht till the summer of 2003. The 41 year-old former Utrecht player wanted a new contract for several years but the club's technical director Han Berger only wanted to extend the deal for one year. Both sides have now reached a compromise with the result that the new contract includes an option for another year!

Utrecht lend De Groot to Volendam

23 Jan 2002

Utrecht are hiring out Donny de Groot to Volendam for the rest of the season with an option to buy the striker when his contract runs out in the summer. The Eerste Divisie side need the 22 year-old to replace Eddy Putter who recently left for RKC. Although he's been a member of the 1st team squad during the last 3 seasons he's never made more than 6 appearances for the Domstad side.

Utrecht in 2 - 2 against Brøndby

18 Jan 2002

Utrecht drew their friendly against Danish side Brøndby 2 - 2

Tom van Mol extends contract with Utrecht

17 Jan 2002

Tom van Moll has extended his contract with Utrecht for another two years - the 29 year-old former PSV and Sparta midfielder joined the Domstad club 5 years ago from Belgian side SK Lommel.

Adelaar to leave Utrecht?

11 Jan 2002

The negotiations between Frans Adelaar and Utrecht have reached stalemate and it could well turn out to be the last season for the trainer in the Domstad. Adelaar had expected to extend his current deal when it runs out at the end of the season, especially as he'd led the side into Europe last season. The former Utrecht player has been coach with the club since March 2000 when he took over from Mark Wotte who went to work for the KNVB.

Groningen and Utrecht draw 2 - 2

16 Dec 2001

Groningen lineup: Beukenkamp, Elshot, Matthijs, Allach, Florén, Van Gessel, Hugo, Broerse, Tuhuteru, Drent and Robben. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuyt. Martin Drent deservedly put the Oosterpark side ahead after 8 minutes as Utrecht struggled with the slippery pitch. Arco Jochemsen came on for Dav van den Bergh and proved a sound choice, equalizing in the 59th as Utrecht began to get to grips with their situation and reversed the roles. Igor Gluscevic nosed them ahead in the 62nd as the Domstad side threatened to run away with the match. They paid the price for not increasing their lead and Jordi Hoogstrate drew Groningen level in the 86th for the final 2 - 2 score.

Utrecht beat Vitesse 3 - 1

02 Dec 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. Vitesse lineup: Van Fessem, Nanu, Stefanovic, Kreek, Van Hintum, Van der Schaaf, Sikora, Laros, Martel, Diarra and Van Beukering. Another convincing win by the Domstad side maintains their unbeaten home record. Igor Gluscevic put them ahead after 20 minutes but Mahamadou Diarra headed in Didier Martel's pass for the equalizer in the 39th. The Frenchman was treated to a chorus of whistles from his old fans everytime he made contact with the ball. After the break Stefaan Tanghe quickly made it 2 - 1 with a curling freekick that hit the back of the net in the 49th and, after Vitesse fought back (Diarra hitting the bar), Gluscevic made it 3 - 1 in the 84th. The result lifts them into 5th place on goal average ahead of PSV who also have 27 points. Vitesse slip to 7th as Koeman most likely packs his bags for Amsterdam.

Paulus Roiha signs for Utrecht

01 Dec 2001

Utrecht and HJK Helsinki have agreed terms to seal the transfer of Paulus Roiha. The 21 year-old striker had already signed a contract for two years, with an option for another two, with the Domstad club.

English clubs watch Dirk Kuyt

30 Nov 2001

Utrecht's striker Dirk Kuyt has attracted the interest of several  English Premier League clubs - West Ham United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United all sent scouts to watch him in action against PSV on Wednesday. His recent performance for Jong Oranje against England's youth team added fuel to the 'foreign interest' but his agent Piet Buter expects that the  21 year-old will not leave the Domstad until next summer, at the earliest, when a clause in his contract will allow him to go.

Utrecht draw with PSV 3 - 3

28 Nov 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Van Mol, Tanghe, Roest, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van de Berg, Gluscevic and Kuyt. PSV lineup: Lodewijks, Ooijer, Faber, Nikiforov, Heintze, Rommedahl, Lucius, Vogel, Bogelund, Vennegoor of Hesselink and Kezman. "A draw will be sufficient" said Eric Gerets before the match and that's exactly what he got as PSV clawed their way back  to earn themselves a point (only the 2nd team to do so in the Galgenwaard stadium this season, Twente being the other). Utrecht started strong and proved particularly dangerous from corners with headers from Kuyt and Van den Bergh going close to going in. It was no real surprise when they went ahead, even if it was an unhappy Youri Nikiforov who put the ball into the net, from one of those corners to give the Domstad side an early advantage in the 4th minute. The visitors were unable to offer much opposition in the 1st half but Yugoslav striker Mateja Kezman proved his worth once more when it mattered with an equalizer in the 34th. The 2nd half saw 4 headers finding the back of the net! The 1st came from Igor Gluscevic who put the home team ahead again in the 50th and Patrick Zwaanswijk added a 3rd in the 57th. PSV fought back and Kezman's pass gave Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink the chance to reduce the gap in the 62nd and Kezman got his 2nd of the evening to even things up in the 81st.

NEC lose to Utrecht 0 - 3

25 Nov 2001

NEC lineup: Gentenaar - Schuurman, Hesp, Wisgerhof, Leiwakabessy - Simr, Wielaert, Latuheru, Ax - Tumba, Jansen Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar - Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart - Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, van Mol, van den Bergh - Gluscevic, Kuyt Utrecht earn a valuable 3 away points to keep them in touch with the top five with this strong performance in Nijmegen which was NEC's 600th professional defeat. Jean-Paul de Jong put away the 1st goal of the afternoon in the 52nd minute (the first Ere Divisie goal NEC have conceded at home since Feyenoortd's 0 - 3 win on September 8th). Stefaan Tanghe scored the 2nd in the 64th and Dave van den Bergh put away the 3rd in the 72nd.

Utrecht want Fin Paulus Roiha

21 Nov 2001

Utrecht have set their eyes on the Finnish striker Paulus Roiha and have apparently already made an offer to his current club HJK Helsinki. The 21 year-old was on loan to Roda last season and has already acquired a reputation for his speed, agility and for being able to play in any forward position. Trainer Frans Adelaar has been looking for some more firepower up front ever since Ruud Berger moved to Cambuur Leeuwarden.

Utrecht smash De Graafschap 6 - 0

18 Nov 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuyt. De Graafschap lineup: Postma, Bot, Berck Beelenkamp, Vreman, Fränkel, Meerdink, Nok, Van den Brom, Van Leerdam, Turpijn and Schulp. Only Twente have managed to escape the Galgenwaard stadium without losing this season (they managed a 1 - 1 draw) and, after an early period in which the "SuperBoeren" made a good impression (Martijn Meerdink and Dennis Schulp failed in their chances to net), it was Utrecht who hit their latest victims with body-blow goals from Dirk Kuijt in the 6th and Dave van den Bergh in the 16th. Harald Wapenaar made some fine saves to keep the score in Utrecht's favour while De Graafschap's defensive pillars Jan Vreman and Milan Berck Beelenkamp both left injured within theng 30 minutes. After that the visitors caved in completely and Utrecht went on the rampage and overwhelmed the visitors. Kuijt added his 2nd for the 3 - 0 in the 37th, Patrick Zwaanswijk put away the 4th in the 48th and Van den Bergh got his 2nd of the afternoon for the 5 - 0 on the hour.  Tom van Mol added the 6th in the 85th.

Utrecht and Twente draw 1 - 1

04 Nov 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar - Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, van Mol - Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, van den Bergh - Gluscevic, Kuyt Twente lineup: Boschker, Van der Weerden, Pothuizen, Grujic, Polak, Caïro, Van der Doelen, Van der Leegte, Van der Laan, Van de Paar and De Gier. The "Tukkers" were obviously boosted by their hard fought performance against Grasshoppers on Thursday (even if they did exit the UEFA Cup) and their new face Jack de Gier, recently signed from Scottish side Dunfermline, paid back some of his transfer fee with a 1st minute goal. Stijn Vreven's pass gave Dirk Kuijt the chance to equalize in the69th and save Utrecht's unbeaten home record (coincidentally Twente were the last team to win in the Domstad on September 17th 2000).

Parma hold Utrecht to goalless draw

01 Nov 2001

Parma lineup: Frey, Cannavaro, Ferrari, Sartor, Mangone, Lamouchi, Boghossian, Appiah, Falsini,  Bonazzoli and Di Vaio. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Van Mol, De Jong, Bosschaart, Schut, Tanghe, Kuijt and Jochemsen. The Italians went for the 'nul', having beaten Utrecht 1 - 3 in Holland, and it proved a sufficiently 'rewarding' tactic - it gives them a place in the next round of the UEFA Cup while the Domstad side will be disappointed to end their European adventure so soon. Utrecht had early chances through Arco Jochemsen and Dirk Kuijt but failed to put them away while the Italian side showed precious little in return apart from a shot by Canavarro and a last minute chance for substitute Marco Marchionni which hit the post. Stefaan Tanghe and Kuijt had chances late in the match but it ended pretty much as expected in a goalless draw.

Feyenoord beat Utrecht 4 - 0

28 Oct 2001

Feyenoord lineup: Zoetebier, Collen, Van Wonderen, De Haan, Rzasa, Dos Santos, Emerton, Paauwe, Ono, Tomasson and Van Hooijdonk. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Jochemsen and Kuyt. A strong 2nd half performance from the Rotterdammers, after a weak 1st half, and a hattrick by Pierre van Hooijdonk will help to heal the wounds of the mid-week defeat by Bayern in the C-L. Jan Dahl Tomasson returned from injury and Leonardo dos Santos made his debut on the right. Archo Jochemsen had the best chance of a poorng half for Utrecht but blasted over, while Feyenoord could only manage to create a couple of small chances for Van Hooijdonk and Ono. P-Air'sng goal was one of his specialist freekicks in the 37th. The 2nd half was much better and, after Tomasson shot just wide, Johan Elmander, substituting for Shinji Ono in the 65th, pushed and stumbled through the defence to put away the 2nd goal in the 67th. The Swedish striker missed a couple of other opportunities before P-Air put away his 2nd for the 3 - 0 in the 77th and added his 3rd for the 4 - 0 in the 88th.

Den Bosch and Utrecht draw 1 - 1

21 Oct 2001

Den Bosch lineup: Mampaey, Faerber, Van der Hoorn, Veenhof, Peelen, Mourad, Deckers, Michels, Van den Eede, Maximiano and Van der Laak. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Jochemsen, Van Mol, Kuyt and Van den Bergh. Utrecht found it just as difficult to penetrate Den Bosch's defensive wall as all the other 'big name' sides who've visited. It may not be pretty football to watch but it delivers a substantial trickle of points and only 2 defeats so far. Mourad and Van den Eede tested Harald Wapenaar within the first 10 minutes - reminding Utrecht that the home team could be equally dangerous from the counters. Utrecht upped the pressure in search of a goal and Den Bosch had a hard fight on their hands keeping them out, especially after goalie Kris Mampaey left injured and was replaced by Max de Jong. Once Stefaan Tanghe scored for the Domstad side in the 58th minute the visitors left the initiative over to Den Bosch  - a fault which led to them giving away a penalty that Bart van den Eede gratefully put away in the 81st  to save a point for Den Bosch and give them their 6th draw of the season.

Utrecht and Eagles strengthen ties

20 Oct 2001

Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles will be signing a document today which will increase the cooperation that already exists between the Ere Divisie and Eerste Divisie clubs. The deal will mean the exchange of players on loan, a first option to buy players and help with scouting and organisation. The first step in this direction was made a year ago, resulting in the loan of Utrecht's Jordy Zuidam to the Eagles. The Domstad side also have a similar agreement with Cambuur Leuuwarden.

Utrecht lose to Parma 1 - 3

18 Oct 2001

The Domstad team started in confident mood, determined not to be intimidated by the visitors. Dave van den Bergh had a hard, distance shot saved in the 12th minute. Parma began to  start showing flashes of their class, breaking out in counters, and their striker Di Vaio lived up to his reputation in the 21st minute, sliding in the ball past a helpless Wapenaar. He missed an even better chance in the 33rd minute as the Italians took more and more control of the match. Utrecht's only other 1st half threat was when Sander Bosschaart blasted off a shot in the dying seconds of the 1st half. After the break Bonazolli headed in a 2nd for Parma in the 54th and Di Vaio got his 2nd for the 0 - 3 in the 69th. Parma were not even having to get into top gear to get the job done, pouncing on the chances when they arrived with an easy confidence and missing a few others too! Jochemsen finally gave the Utrecht supporters (who delivered full-throated support throughout the match) something to cheer about with a goal in the 76th minute and Arts had a freekick come close to dipping in 5 minutes later as Utrecht rallied for the closing 10 minutes. Bonnazolli missed a perfect chance for the 1 - 4 in injury time before the final whistle. The Domstad team fought hard but ended up confirming the fact that they were simply not in the same class as Parma. Their European adventure, as well as Twente's, looks to be pretty well over.

Utrecht miss Touzani against Parma

17 Oct 2001

Utrecht will face Parma in their UEFA Cup encounter without the help of defender Karim Touzani - the central defender is still suffering from an injury he picked up in the recent match against Heerenveen.

Utrecht beat Willem II 3 - 1

14 Oct 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, De Jong, Bosschaart Gluscevic, Kuyt and Van den Bergh. Willem II lineup: De Vlieger, Jaliens, Van Nieuwstadt, Janssens, Mathijsen, Landzaat, Caluwé, Victoria. Ceesay, Bombarda and Abdellaoui. Utrecht remain unbeaten at home and have yet to concede a point in the Galgenwaard stadium. Their physical form of football doesn't suit the 'Tricolores' preference for a more light-weight attractive, attacking style. The home team's pressure proved too much for the visitors who lost the ball easily and consequently couldn't put the moves together. Patrick Zwaanswijkd the score for the home team in the 33rd minute, heading in from a Patrick Bosschaart freekick. Stijn Vreven's run and subsequent generosity gave Igor Gluscevic the chance to tap in for the 2 - 0 in the 51st. Three minutes later Denny Landzaat slotted away a penalty (nobody seemed to know why the referee awarded it!)  to make it 2 - 1. Gluscevic made certain of the points with his 2nd of the day in the 52nd and the score could have been higher if Dave van den Bergh, Stefaan Tanghe, Mr. Gluscevic, Tom Van Mol and  Dirk Kuijt hadn't missed their moment.

Ruud Berger on loan to Cambuur

12 Oct 2001

Utrecht's Ruud Berger is going on loan to Eerste Divisie Cambuur for the rest of the season. The 21 year-old striker has little chnace of 1st team action in the Domstad and should be making his debut tonight for Leeuwarden in the home match against Excelsior. The Jong Oranje player has been a member of Utrecht's squad since the 1998/1999 season, making 26 Eredivisie goalless appearances.

Heerenveen lose to Utrecht 1 - 2

10 Oct 2001

Heerenveen lineup: Vonk, Venema, Klompe, Gérard de Nooijer, Edman, Talan, Radomski, Jensen, Nurmela, Allbäck and Denneboom. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Jochemsen, Kuyt and Van den Bergh. Utrecht won their first away match of the season and Heerenveen lost their first home match tonight. Heerenveen started off well, Mike Nurmela's pass finding a thankful Romano Denneboom who headed in for the 1 - 0 after 11  minutes of play. As the match progressed Utrecht came into their own, Stefaan Tanghe equalizing in the 35th as both teams put on an entertaining, attacking spectacle for the fans to enjoy. Utrecht were the better side in the 2nd half and debutant Arco Jochemsen celebrated by scoring the match-winner in the 48th. The Domstad side leapfrog Heerenveen in the table to 6th place, the Frieslanders are now 7th.

Utrecht beat RKC 2 - 1

30 Sept 2001

FC Utrecht: Wapenaar, Vreven, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Arts, van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. RKC Waalwijk: Van Dijk, Teixeira, Lamey, Van den Berg, De Graef, Petrovic, Van Diemen, Govedarica, Yuri Cornelisse, Janssen and Hoogendorp. Utrecht remain unbeaten at home in their Galgenwaard stadium - this was their 4th win in a row. They

UEFA 2nd Round draw announced

28 Sept 2001

The draw for the next round of the UEFA Cup has been announced: Ajax meet FC Cagen, Roda meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Twente meet the Swiss team Grasshoppers and Utrecht will have the most difficult task of all as they try to get passed Parma.

Utrecht miss Arts against Grazer

26 Sept 2001

Utrecht will be missing Arno Arts against Grazer AK in Austria tomorrow - the 32 year-old midfileder has gone down with the flu. His place, for the match in the Arnold Scwharzenegger stadium, will probably be taken by Tom van Mol.

AZ beat Utrecht 1 - 0

23 Sept 2001

AZ lineup: Moens, Lee, Opdam, Wijker, Lindenbergh, Boussatta, Kromkamp, van Galen, Buskermolen, Nelisse and Elkhattabi. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Arts, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. A welcome win and 3 points for AZ and their 3rd victory in a row! Robben Nelisse had a terrible afternoon, missing everything that came his way, he even missed a penalty in the 30th which meant that it was substitute Kenneth Perez who shot high and hard, scoring the only goal in the 88th minute from a Barry van Galen pass to give the Alkmaarders the points. Utrecht have had 3 wins in a row at home but this was their 4th consecutive away defeat and they will want to be improving their away performance.

Utrecht beat Grazer AK 3 - 0

20 Sept 2001

Utrecht put in a professional looking performance against a solid Austrian side who threatened primarily with some dangerous counters. The Domstad sided in fighting mood, pushing forward and creating a couple of chances in the first 15 minutes, after which the initial pressure dropped before rising again when a nice move by Kuyt and Tanghe gave Dave van den Bergh the chance to hook in their first goal in the 21st minute. Utrecht kept up a steady flow of solid football, patiently working away and were rewarded for their patience with a 2nd goal, Van den Bergh setting it up, sending in a nice cross which Stefan Tanghe headed smartly in for a 2nd goal in the 34th. Harald Waapenaar was only really tested once in the 1st half but dealt well with the shot. The 2nd half got off to a good start for Utrecht when, after a couple of nice attacking moves, a low cross was slotted home by Gluscevic in the 49th. Grazer's best moment was when Brunmayr sent in a nice free-kick which just went over for in the 70th -from then on the match descended into a scrappy affair. Gluscevic was substituted by Karim Touzani for the dying minutes as Utrecht tried to close down the hatches. Although there was the potential in this match to knock in a few more goals than went on the board, the 3 - 0 result is a good start to the Domstad side's European campaign and will please coach Hans Adelaar no end.

Utrecht miss Berger against Grazer

19 Sept 2001

Utrecht will be missing Ruud Berger against Grazer AK in the Galgenwaard stadium tomorrow - the Dutch youth international has an ankle injury. The injured Etienne Shew-Atjon (thighbone) will also be missing, as will Dennis van de Ree (who's been dropped) in the 18 man squad Frans Adelaar has selected.

Utrecht beat Roda 4 - 1

16 Sept 2001

UEFA Cup teams Utrecht and Roda have had a poor start to the new season, sitting in 17th and 18th place in the table. The visitors suffered a crushing defeat today at the hands of the Domstad team who continue to win on their home turf while having problems away. Roda's defence was a shambles and they're lucky that Utrecht were unable to put away more of the abundant opportunities that came their way. Igor Gluscevic put the home side ahead after 22 minutes and Tomasic equalized for Roda in the 36th. It didn't last long as a quick one-two by Tanghe in the 38th and Gluscevic in the 39th plus a 2nd for Tanghe in the 44th to make it 4 - 1 gave Utrecht a serious advantage to take into the dressing room at the break. Compared to the 1st 45 minutes the 2nd half was a goalless and unentertaining spectacle.

Utrecht beat Groningen 3 - 1

09 Sept 2001

Utrecht have yet to earn themselves a point this season! They lost 1 - 0 at Twente in theirng match, went down 3 - 1 at Sparta and lost 1 - 0 to Vitesse. Groningend with a 2 - 2 home draw against PSV, followed it up with a 1 - 0 win against Willem II and lost 4 - 0 at RKC. Utrecht lined-up: Wapenaar,Vreven, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Arts, Tanghe, van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. Groningen lined-up: Beukenkamp, Elshot, Allach, Schoenmakers, Johansson, van Gessel, Hugo, Broerse, Visser, Drent and Tuhuteru. Utrecht won their first points of the season not so much because they were so good (their forwards were sloppy and wasted a lot of chances) but because they fought hard for their win. The 1st half was characterised by bad passing and plenty of those missedngs (Tanghe and Gluscevic both missed early on) - Jean-Paul de Jongd the score for the Domstad team in the 12th. Groningen began to wise up to the fact that Utrecht's frontline was off-form and decided to join in the match, Ignacio Tuhuteru equalizing for them in the 32nd. The 2nd half was better entertainment - Utrecht fighting hard but being denied by the good work of goalie Beukenkamp (he dealt alertly with efforts from Van den Bergh and Tanghe). They were finally rewarded for their efforts by a penalty in the 71st minute, after Stijn Vreven was brought down in the area ,giving Dirk Kuyt the chance to make it 2 - 1.  Dave van den Bergh put the result beyond doubt in the 83rd minute providing a much needed confidence booster for Utrecht who have Thursday's UEFA Cup meeting with Grazer AK ahead of them.

Vitesse beat Utrecht 1 - 0

25 Aug 2001

Vitesse had beaten AZ on Wednesday while Utrecht have booked two defeats so far (against NAC and Sparta) but neiether team will want to be reminded of this evening's bleak spectacle. Utrecht looked to have the upperhand in theng stages but Vitesse recovered and Ajax hired-gun Tijani Babangida looked particularly threatening but he unfortunately lacked finesse in terms of passing and finishing while Mustapha Riga on the left was similarly lacking in the same departments. The 1st half will, unfortunately, be remembered more for a couple of fouls (by Van der Schalf on De Jong and Peeters on Vreven) than for any goal-mouth action that occurred. The 2nd half began promisingly but, after chances for Van den Bergh and Gluscevic, it fizzled out and it took an own goal (an unfortunate header) by Patrick Zwaanswijk in the 79th minute to gift Vitesse 3 points this evening.

Grazer AK - Utrecht's UEFA opponent

24 Aug 2001

Utrecht could have drawn a far 'heavier' opponent for theirng match of the cup than Austrian side Grazer AK, who are themselves rather more disappointed with the draw than the Domstad team. They shouldn't be underestimated though - they outrank Sturm Graz in the Austrian league and were the team that knocked out Feyenoord last season in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League. A German style of football is to be expected (surprise, surprise) which Utrecht have had some recent experience of facing during their pre-season preparations. In the UEFA Cup they've also booked past successes against Austrian teams: against Linzer SK in 1987 and in 1991 against Sturm Graz to reach the 2nd Round.

UEFA Cup First Round Draw

24 Aug 2001

The draw for the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup has been announced: Roda JC will play Fylkir, Utrecht will play Grazer AK, Ajax will play Apollon Limassol and Twente will play away to Polonia Warsaw. The first leg matches are on September 13th and the second leg matches will be on September 27th.

NAC beat Utrecht 1 - 0

19 Aug 2001

The first 'Avondje NAC' of this season had a happy ending for the home team who held their own against the no.5s of last season. It began to look as if it would end in a well-earned draw, and Henk ten Cate was on the point of substituting Glen Salmon, when the South African scored the match-winner in the 73rd minute for which the Domstad team had no reply.

Utrecht sign Australian Tsiorlas

13 Aug 2001

Utrecht have signed Australian Mark Tsiorlas on a contract for one year. He came to the Domstad side's attention during a match between their reserve team and Telstar Stormvogels Combinatie's where the 18 year-old was on trial. The striker travels on both a Greek and an Australian passport and is often compared to Leeds United's Mark Viduka.

Utrecht draw with Cambuur

05 Aug 2001

Utrecht only managed a 1 - 1 draw in their friendly against First Division side Cambuur Leuuwaarden. Both goals came from spot-shots, Dirk Kuyt put one away for the Domstad team and new signing Dirk-Jan Derksen did the same for the Frieslanders.

Utrecht's Oliseh on hire to FC Jokerit

03 Aug 2001

Utrecht are loaning Azubuike 'Bike' Oliseh ( brother of former Ajacied Sunbday Oliseh) to FC Jokerit until October (where he'll find Dutchman Jan Everse is trainer). He's been demoted a couple of times to the reserves by Frans Adelaar for a lack of motivation but could see UEFA  Cup action with the Finnish side who are playing in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.

Stijn Vreven extends contract with Utrecht

17 July 2001

Despite interest from several English clubs, Utrecht's technical director Hans Berger has managed to persuade Belgian defender Stijn Vreven to extend his contract with the Domstad side till 2005.

Utrecht go down 0 - 5 to Hansa Rostock

15 July 2001

Utrecht were totally outclassed by Hansa Rostock in Germany with a 0 - 5 final score and, to makes things worse, Stefan Tanghe was sent off after only 30 minutes of play.

Utrecht win friendly

11 July 2001

The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and all Premier Division sides won their matches:Utrecht beat a regional team Vleuten/De Meern 0 - 16 including goals by Van den Bergh, Kuyt (4), Van de Berg (3), Gluscevic, Van Mol, De Groot, and Touzani.

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Foeke Booy new Utrecht trainer

26 May 2002

Foeke Booy has been confirmed as Utrecht's new trainer as the club's assistant-trainer steps in for Frans Adelaar who resigned last weekend. Technical director Han Berger, the man who'd been in conflict with Adelaar for much of last season, nominated Booy as the man for the job. The 40 year-old former striker has a wealth of experience as a player with Cambuur Leeuwarden, De Graafschap, Groningen, Club Brugge, AA Gent and Utrecht, added to his experience looking after the Domstad side's A-youth team during the last four years.

Foeke Booy to take over at Utrecht

20 May 2002

Foeke Booy looks set to take over as Utrecht's new trainer after the club's technical director Hans Berger announced yesterday during Dutch TV programme "'t Hek van de Dam"  that the 40 year-old is the no.1 candidate to succeed Frans Adelaar who resigned last week. "Firstly we'll be holding talks with Booy to see if he's at all interested in the job before looking further". The Frieslander is currently Adelaar's assistant in the Nieuw Galgenwaard and has the required coaching qualifications to take the job if he wants! The former Cambuur, Groningen and Club Brugge player also turned out for Utrecht, where he ended his playing career before becoming a member of the technical staff at the club.

Frans Adelaar resigns at Utrecht

17 May 2002

Trainer Frans Adelaar has asked Utrecht to terminate his contract which runs till 2003. The club is considering his request and, for the time being, neither side is giving a reason for his wish to leave the Domstad side. It's possible that the uneasy relationship between the 41 year-old and the club's technical director Han Berger is the underlying problem! The two were in conflict last October when Berger hired out his son Ruud to Cambuur without consulting Adelaar beforehand. Negotiations for the trainer's contract extension earlier this season were also less than smooth! The former Utrecht player has been in charge since March 2000 when he took over from Mark Wotte, who left to work for the Dutch FA ( KNVB). After a slow start he took the team into Europe last season but it was a huge disappointment when the team were denied the Amstel Cup due to a linesman's blunder! Nevertheless, Utrecht  will be playing European football again next season!

Twente beat Utrecht 2-0

28 Apr 2002

Twente lineup: Boschker, Van der Weerden, Grujic, El-Brazi, Heubach, Cziommer, Ten Hag, Van der Doelen, Van der Laan, Booth, Van de Paar. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Schut, Van Mol, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, Van den Bergh, Roiha, Gluscevic. Second half goals by Björn van der Doelen, on the hour (60th), and Jack de Gier (67th) gave the "Tukkers" a much needed win (they've not had many of those this season) that lifts them into 10th place on 41 points, dislodging Willem II who lost at Vitesse. Utrecht get knocked off 6th into 7th place by NAC 's win against Eerste Divisie bound Fortuna .

Ajax don't want Amstel Cup Final in Kuip

26 Apr 2002

Ajax are reportedly so concerned at the prospect of clashes between groups of rival Feyenoord, Utrecht and Ajax 'supporters' before, during and after the Amstel Cup Final planned for May 12th in Rotterdam that they have asked the KNVB (Dutch FA) to stage the match somewhere/anywhere else or even go so far as to cancel it altogether!!! Dutch Supporters organisation SOVS (Samenwerkende Organisaties Voetbalsupporters) has asked the Mayor of Rotterdam Mr.Opstelten to reconsider and allocate Ajax fans 15,000 tickets instead of the current 5,900 (due to the same fear of crowd troubles) but have also requested that the match take place at another venue in order to minimize the risk!

Utrecht beat AZ 3-2

24 Apr 2002

Utrecht Lineup: Harald Wapenaar, Stijn Vreven, Patrick Zwaanswijk, Robert Roest, Tom van Mol, Jean-Paul de Jong, Pascal Bosschaart, Stefaan Tanghe (58. Paulus Roiha),Dave van den Bergh, Igor Gluscevic (86. Karim Touzani), Dirk Kuyt. AZ Lineup: Oscar Moens, Jannes Wolters, Peter Wijker, Barry Opdam, Abdelkrimn El Hadrioui(74. Ali Elkhattabi), Reinier Robbemond, Michael Buskermolen, Olaf Lindenbergh,Kenneth Perez (74. Jamal Dibi), Robin Nelisse, Max Huiberts. Utrecht and AZ put on a good show in an entertaining 5 goal game. Although Utrecht was the better of the 2 teams in the 1st half it was AZ thatd the score. The visitors were awarded a free- kick on the edge of the penalty area after a foul by Belgian Tom de Mol. Max Huiberts polished the ball with his shirt- cuff before placing the ball on the turf. With 'Van Hooidonk-like' precision he then curled the ball over the wall of defenders into the back of the net. 7 minutes after the break Utrecht equalized when Glusevic nodded in his 14th of the season but, only 2 minutes later, AZ took the lead again. Robin Nelisse spurted down the entire right wing and finished off his impressive solo-run with a low, hard shot into the far corner of the Utrecht goal. Trailing 1-2, but with their loyal support to encourage them, Utrecht pressed forward for the equalizer. In the 66th minute, Dirk Kuyt received the ball on the edge of the box, dribbled past 3 AZ defenders before firing a shot that flew into the top left- hand corner of the goal. 3 minutes later Glusevic was once again on target.  Kuyt picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and crossed to Gluscevic who nodded in from close range. His header first hit the crossbar and then ricocheted off goalkeeper Moens back before landing in the back of the net for the 3 - 2.

 

Ajax beat Utrecht 1-0

21 Apr 2002

Ajax lineup: Grim, Trabelsi, Bergdølmo, Chivu, O'Brien, Van der Meyde, Galásek, Van Halst, Maxwell, Machlas and Mido. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, Touzani, Jochemsen, Bosschaart, Gluscevic and Kuijt. Ajax stay clear after this 1-0 against Utrecht in the ArenA! The match finally kicked-off 30 minutes late due to the chaos created by all the extra security measures taken by Ajax after the recent riots during the Ajax 2 - Utrecht Amstel Cup quarter-final. Everyone has to identify themselves before getting in! All the Utrecht supporters were escorted back to the trains because they had no identification with them and their team had to play without support! From the whistle Ajax were motivated and hungry, fighting for every ball and, when they lost possession, making sure they got it back a.s.a.p. Van Halst picked up a yellow card after only 2 minutes but was working his ass off though throughout the match and formed, together with Andy van der Meyde, the twin-cylinders in the Ajax motor today. Ajax had more than their fare share of chances to create a substantial lead in the 1st half as they dominated play. Well, 'walk like an Egyptian' if it wasn't 'Mido' who finally scored the vital match-winner, after missing several others, for the Amsterdammers in the 40th minute. A nice piece of work by John O'Brien set him up and he shot diagonally into goal. Utrecht made a much improved impression after the break, as you would expect, and came close to scoring as Ajax fell back in defence. The Amsterdammers had their own chances through Machlas and substitute Zlatan but both gentlemen failed to find the back of the net. Petri Pasnanen came on, after almost a year's absence through injury, as substitute for his first appearance. Ajax held on till the final whistle and keep a healthy distance between them and the opposition. That Ere Divisie title gets closer all the time with only two matches to go!

Wapenaar to end career with Utrecht

16 Apr 2002

Harald Wapenaar wants to end his playing career with Utrecht and is currently negotiating a new contract which will run for a maximum of 5 years. The 32 year-old goalie is happy in the Domstad and expects to hang up his boots when the new deal has expired.

Utrecht beat RKC 2-1

14 Apr 2002

Utrecht Lineup:Harald Wapenaar, Stijn Vreven, Patrick Zwaanswijk, Pascal Bosschaart, Stefaan Tanghe, Jean Paul de Jong (70th Robert Roest), Arno Arts (70th Tom van Mol), Dirk Kuyt, Igor Gluscevic (77th Arco Jochemsen), Dave van den Bergh, Karim Touzani. RKC Lineup: Rob van Dijk, Michael Lamey, Patrick van Diemen, Peter van den Berg, Garry de Graef, Virgilio Texeira (84th Giovanni Franken), Zeljko Petrovic (80th Ivar van Dinteren), Dejan Govedarica, Yuri Cornelisse (88th John van Loenhout), Rick Hoogendorp, Jochen Janssen. Utrecht dominated the 1st half but it took until the 31st minute before Igor Gluscevicd the score. The Domstad side should have netted another 2 or 3 goals in the 1st half but RKC's keeper Van Dijk kept his team in the match with a number of fine saves including stopping a Dirk Kuyt spot shot. Although Patrick van Diemen equalized in the 54th minute Utrecht kept pressing forward and, in the 79th, they scored again. Stefaan Tanghe picked up the ball after Van Dijk had fumbled it and shot hard  into thegoal.

Utrecht let Spaan and Furfaro go

08 Apr 2002

Utrecht are letting youth players Robert Spaan and Nino Furfaro go this summer. The goalie and striker play for Jong FC Utrecht but now join Hakim Chatouani, Mounir L'Fathi and Wesley van Maren (who were all told last month they could leave the club) in the search for a new employer.  Luckier by far are Bas van den Brink, Max Lohy and keeper Joost Terol who've all signed a new deal for one more year.

No more tickets for Ajax II - Utrecht

27 Mar 2002

Ajax has halted the sale of tickets for Friday's Amstel Cup semi-final between Ajax's reserve side and Utrecht. Ajax believe there could be problems in the ArenA after the police in Utrecht warned Ajax officials that a number of Utrecht    'troublemakers' had managed to obtain tickets for Ajax's notorious 'F-side' stand (home to the hardcore Ajax fans).

De Graafschap draw with Utrecht 0 - 0

25 Mar 2002

De Graafschap are also a club needing points to help them steer clear of the playoff zone and Utrecht are seeking points for European football next season. They both got 1 point yesterday afternoon in the "Vijverberg", not enough I fear for either of their aspirations.

Utrecht beat Fortuna 3 - 0

17 Mar 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Jean-Paul de Jong, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Jochemsen, Van Mol, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Kuijt and Gluscevic. Fortuna lineup: Hesp, Van der Hoeven, Akerboom, Volmer, Hermans, Meszaros, Rook, Gerritsen, Landerl, Simons and Cramb. Fortuna were reduced to 10 men in the 15th when Regilio Simons got a red card but Utrecht, who've failed to impress since the winter break, simply couldn't seem to get into gear and take advantage of their numerical advantage. The Sittardians managed to hold on till just before half-time when Patrick Zwaanswijk headed in from a Van den Bergh corner for the 1 - 0. Igor Gluscevic added a 2nd in the 67th from anothet piece of Van den Bergh work and Stefaan Tanghe made it 3 - 0 in the 90th. The final score was flattering for the Domstad side as this was not one of their better performances. Unfortunate Fortuna notch up their 18th defeat of the season while Utrecht side stay in 7th on 40 points from 27 games.

Ere Divisie Friendly Roundup

13 Mar 2002

Utrecht drew 1 - 1 in their friendly against Swedish side Örgryte last night thanks to a goal by Dave van den Bergh.

Utrecht beat Sparta 4 - 2

08 Mar 2002

Utrecht lineup: Ponk, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Schut, Bosschaart, Van Mol, De Jong, Arts, Jochemsen, Gluscevic and Kuijt. Sparta lineup: Kros, Marília, Mendes, Nieuwenburg, Zijm, Bouchiba, Winter, Langerak, Boukhari, Sanou and Koevermans. Utrecht stay on course for European football, moving one place up the table from 8th to 7th place on 31 points from 26 played but RKC have a game in hand and are away to Heerenveen tomorrow. Sparta fought hard but stay in 17th place on 23 points from 26 played. Stijn Vreven was a driving force down the right wing tonight, his cross rounded off with a fine header by Dirk Kuijt the 22nd minute. A minute later his hasty back pass to goalie René Ponk ended up in the back of the net for an own goal but the popular Belgian made up for it by scoring in the 45th. Sparta came back after the break and Michel Langerak scored the equalizer in the 56th. Substitute Dave van den Bergh's shot was flicked back, and past goalie Kros, by Marília for an own goal to put the Domstad side back in front in the 64th and Arco Jochemsen added a 4th in the 71st. It's Utrecht's first home win since December 23rd while Sparta haven't won a match since November 28th.

Broerse off to Utrecht in 2003/2004

09 Mar 2002

Joost Broerse has just extended his deal with Groningen for another season while simultaneously announcing that he's going to be joining Utrecht in the 2003/2004 season. The 22 year-old midfielder returns to play for his former club, whom he left to join Groningen in 1997, on a contract for 3 seasons. While with Utrecht he never actually played for the 1st team but he did  make his debut for Groningen against PSV in November 1997 and, since then, the Jong Oranje player has become a regular feature of the team.

Willem II beat Utrecht 4 - 2

02 Mar 2002

Willem II lineup: De Vlieger, Jaliens, J. Mathijsen, Van Nieuwstadt, Janssens, Landzaat, D. Mathijssen, Caluwé, Ceesay, Bombarda and Shoukov. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Bosschaart, Van Mol, Schut, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Shew A Tjon, Jochemsen, Gluscevic and Kuijt.   Utrecht went ahead in the 14th minute through Stefaan Tanghe, rounding off Igor Gluscevic's pass as the visitors seemed to be heading for an away win. They were soon woken robbed of their illusion with a nice shot but Chris Janssens equalized from a freekick in the 33rd. Harald Wapenaar earned himself a red card when he brought down Kew Jaliens in the 55th minute and disappeared for an early shower, reducing the Domstad side to 10 men and giving Denny Landzaat the chance to put the "Tricolores" ahead with a spot-shot in the 56th.  Willem II got more of a grip on the match from then on and Tom Caluwé added a 3rd goal in the 70th minute. Mariano Bombarda was brought down in the area so that Landzaat could put away his 2nd penalty of the evening in the 76th for the 4 - 1. Paulus Roiha blasted in a 2nd for Utrecht in the 81st for the 4 - 2. The win gives the Tilburg side a very welcome 3 points that takes them from 13th to 9th place on 31 points from 25 played. Utrecht will be annoyed not to have taken home at least a point and stay in 7th on 34 points from 25. They haven't won since 1994 in Tilburg and remain without a win at all since the start fo the 2nd half of the season.

Utrecht target Jürgen Dirckx

27 Feb 2002

Dutch regional newspaper "De Limburger" is running a story that PSV's Jürgen Dirckx, currently on loan to Fortuna, is being targeted by Utrecht. The 26 year-old defender played for PSV as a youth player, turning out for Fortuna between 1995 and 1998 before returning to Eindhoven in 1998 where he's become superfluous under Eric Gerets.

PSV go 2nd after 4 - 0 against Utrecht

24 Feb 2002

PSV lineup: Lodewijks, Bøgelund, Ooijer, Hofland, Bouma, Rommedahl, Vogel, Van Bommel, Gakhokidze, John de Jong and Vennegoor of Hesselink. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Schut, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Jochemsen, Van den Bergh and Kuijt. A hattrick by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink makes the striker Ere Divisie top scorer on 18 goals scored and takes PSV into 2nd place, on 46 points from 24 games played, after this win against Utrecht.  PSV dominated the early play but failed to find the back of the net, Vennegoor's best-of-the-bunch hit the woodwork. Pivotal moment in the match was when Jean-Paul de Jong got sent off in the 39th for arguing with the referee, picking up his 2nd yellow card in the process, and reducing Utrecht to 10 men. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink put away hisr to give the home team the lead in the 45th minute, Mateja Kezman adding a 2nd in the 70th, with Vennegoor getting his 2nd in the 81st and 3rd in the 90th. Utrecht drop to 8th on 34 points from 25 played.

Patrick Zaanswijk gets two match ban

14 Feb 2002

Utrecht's Patrick Zwaanswijk has been banned for 3 matches, one of which is conditional, for his red card in the recent 1 - 4 home defeat by NEC when he brought down Frank Demouge for his 2nd yellow card of the game, and 5th of the season, in injury time. The 27 year-old defender will miss the coming matches against PSV and Willem II.

Utrecht lose unbeaten record to NEC

10 Feb 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Touzani, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuijt. NEC lineup: Gentenaar, Schuurman, Hesp, Wisgerhof, Maes, Simr, Wielaert, Latuheru, Ax, Dennis de Nooijer and Demouge. Utrecht must have been wondering what the hell happened as they woke up, as if from a nightmare, to find themselves 0 - 3 down (at home of all places) after only 7 minutes. Patrick Ax put away the 1st in theng minute, Danny Hesp added a 2nd in the 3rd and Ax got his 2nd in the 6th minute for the 0 - 3 knockout. Paulus Roiha got one back in the 65th but Frank Demouge restored the gap with a 4th for the Nijmegen side in the 68th. Patrick Zwaanswijk was sent off just before time in the 88th. The surprise defeat ends the Domstad side's long unbeaten home record and they stay where they are in 8th place on 34 points from 23 played and NEC move up one place to 9th on 29 from 22 played.

Roda beat Utrecht 1 - 0

06 Feb 2002

Roda lineup: Kalac, Sonkaya, Vrede, Rudge, Luijpers, Van Dessel, Lachambre, Tchoutang, Vandenbroeck, Nygaard and Anastasiou. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Touzani, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Tanghe, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Kuijt and Gluscevic. Harald Wapenaar put in a tremendous performance tonight to stop Roda handing out any more punishment than the one goal by Sven Vandenbroeck goal in the 73rd. The home team were determined to erase their 5 - 0 defeat by Feyenoord at the weekend and attacked from the whistle. Bernard Tchoutang and Vandenbroeck had 1st half attempts go just wide and Anastasiou had his header saved. Utrecht got a couple of chances of their own but Dirk Kuijt was off target. After the break the 'Kerkrade Crew' continued to look sharper but Wapenaar was not to be passed, saving shots by Anastasiou, Nygaard and Tchoutang before Vandenbroeck's winner got through. Roda go into 15th on 25 points from 22 played while Utrecht drop to 6th on 34 from 22.

Utrecht and Heerenveen in stalemate 0 - 0

03 Feb 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Touzani, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. Heerenveen lineup: Ditewig, Venema, Klompe, Gérard de Nooijer, Edman, Radomski, Selakovic, Jensen, Nurmela, Allbäck and Lurling. Utrecht knocked the Frieslanders out of the Amstel Cup on Wednesday evening but this repeat meeting in the league so soon after their quarter-final encounter proved to be too much of a good thing because neither side were able to find the back of the net. Nonetheless both teams improve their ranking,  Heerenveen go 4th on 36 points from 21 played while Utrecht are now 5th on 34 from 21.

Utrecht beat Heerenveen 3 - 1 in Cup

30 Jan 2002

Utrecht are through to the semi-finals of the Amstel Cup after a 3 - 1 win against Heerenveen. Erik Edman put the Frieslanders ahead in the 41st, Pascal Bosschaart levelled the score for Utrecht in the 45th and two more goals from Igor Gluscevic in the 67th and Dirk Kuyt in the 90th gave the Domstad side the victory. Foppe de Haan and his boys will be wondering what happened, especially after Anthony Lurling saw his spot-shot saved by Harald Wapenaar - if it had gone in it would have made the score 2 - 2. Utrecht were reduced to 10 men for the last 20 minutes when Karim Touzani got his marching orders but Heerenveen were unable to profit from their numerical advantage and when Kuyt put away the injury time winner the Domstad went wild and the celebrations began!

Utrecht and Feyenoord draw 2 - 2

27 Jan 2002

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuyt. Feyenoord lineup: Zoetebier, Emerton, De Haan, Paauwe, Rzasa, Elmander, Bosvelt, Van Wonderen, Ono, Tomasson, and Van Hooijdonk. Utrecht hold on to their unbeaten at home record with this 2 - 2 against Feyenoord. Danish international Jon Dahl Tomasson (almost-certainly-leaving-the-Kuip this summer)d the score for the visitors after only 2 minutes, Dave van den Bergh quickly equalizing for the Domstad side in the 5th in an explosive start to the match. In the rest of the 1st half Utrecht showed more daring than the visitors but were only able to come up with some distance shots that proved no problem for Edwin Zoetebier until Stefaan Tanghe nosed them ahead in the 37th. The 2nd half was tame fare and neither side looked threatening so Pierre van Hooijdonk's header came literally out-of-the-blue in the 62nd to give the Rotterdammers a point to take home.

Utrecht sign Sigmundur Kristjansson

28 Jan 2002

Utrecht have signed the Icelander Sigmundur Kristjansson on a contract for 2 years - he currently plays for FC Throttur from Reykjavik. The youth international, who's already been for a visit and a trial to the Domstad last year, will report for duty at the beginning of next season when he'll be stalled with Jong Utrecht.

Adelaar extends stay with Utrecht

24 Jan 2002

After long and difficult negotiations looked to have ended in stalemate, Frans Adelaar has extended his contract with Utrecht till the summer of 2003. The 41 year-old former Utrecht player wanted a new contract for several years but the club's technical director Han Berger only wanted to extend the deal for one year. Both sides have now reached a compromise with the result that the new contract includes an option for another year!

Utrecht lend De Groot to Volendam

23 Jan 2002

Utrecht are hiring out Donny de Groot to Volendam for the rest of the season with an option to buy the striker when his contract runs out in the summer. The Eerste Divisie side need the 22 year-old to replace Eddy Putter who recently left for RKC. Although he's been a member of the 1st team squad during the last 3 seasons he's never made more than 6 appearances for the Domstad side.

Utrecht in 2 - 2 against Brøndby

18 Jan 2002

Utrecht drew their friendly against Danish side Brøndby 2 - 2 thanks to goals from Igor Gluscevic and Dirk Kuyt.

Tom van Mol extends contract with Utrecht

17 Jan 2002

Tom van Moll has extended his contract with Utrecht for another two years - the 29 year-old former PSV and Sparta midfielder joined the Domstad club 5 years ago from Belgian side SK Lommel.

Adelaar to leave Utrecht?

11 Jan 2002

The negotiations between Frans Adelaar and Utrecht have reached stalemate and it could well turn out to be the last season for the trainer in the Domstad. Adelaar had expected to extend his current deal when it runs out at the end of the season, especially as he'd led the side into Europe last season. The former Utrecht player has been coach with the club since March 2000 when he took over from Mark Wotte who went to work for the KNVB.

Groningen and Utrecht draw 2 - 2

16 Dec 2001

Groningen lineup: Beukenkamp, Elshot, Matthijs, Allach, Florén, Van Gessel, Hugo, Broerse, Tuhuteru, Drent and Robben. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuyt. Martin Drent deservedly put the Oosterpark side ahead after 8 minutes as Utrecht struggled with the slippery pitch. Arco Jochemsen came on for Dav van den Bergh and proved a sound choice, equalizing in the 59th as Utrecht began to get to grips with their situation and reversed the roles. Igor Gluscevic nosed them ahead in the 62nd as the Domstad side threatened to run away with the match. They paid the price for not increasing their lead and Jordi Hoogstrate drew Groningen level in the 86th for the final 2 - 2 score.

Utrecht beat Vitesse 3 - 1

02 Dec 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. Vitesse lineup: Van Fessem, Nanu, Stefanovic, Kreek, Van Hintum, Van der Schaaf, Sikora, Laros, Martel, Diarra and Van Beukering. Another convincing win by the Domstad side maintains their unbeaten home record. Igor Gluscevic put them ahead after 20 minutes but Mahamadou Diarra headed in Didier Martel's pass for the equalizer in the 39th. The Frenchman was treated to a chorus of whistles from his old fans everytime he made contact with the ball. After the break Stefaan Tanghe quickly made it 2 - 1 with a curling freekick that hit the back of the net in the 49th and, after Vitesse fought back (Diarra hitting the bar), Gluscevic made it 3 - 1 in the 84th. The result lifts them into 5th place on goal average ahead of PSV who also have 27 points. Vitesse slip to 7th as Koeman most likely packs his bags for Amsterdam.

Paulus Roiha signs for Utrecht

01 Dec 2001

Utrecht and HJK Helsinki have agreed terms to seal the transfer of Paulus Roiha. The 21 year-old striker had already signed a contract for two years, with an option for another two, with the Domstad club.

English clubs watch Dirk Kuyt

30 Nov 2001

Utrecht's striker Dirk Kuyt has attracted the interest of several  English Premier League clubs - West Ham United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United all sent scouts to watch him in action against PSV on Wednesday. His recent performance for Jong Oranje against England's youth team added fuel to the 'foreign interest' but his agent Piet Buter expects that the  21 year-old will not leave the Domstad until next summer, at the earliest, when a clause in his contract will allow him to go.

Utrecht draw with PSV 3 - 3

28 Nov 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Van Mol, Tanghe, Roest, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van de Berg, Gluscevic and Kuyt. PSV lineup: Lodewijks, Ooijer, Faber, Nikiforov, Heintze, Rommedahl, Lucius, Vogel, Bogelund, Vennegoor of Hesselink and Kezman. "A draw will be sufficient" said Eric Gerets before the match and that's exactly what he got as PSV clawed their way back  to earn themselves a point (only the 2nd team to do so in the Galgenwaard stadium this season, Twente being the other). Utrecht started strong and proved particularly dangerous from corners with headers from Kuyt and Van den Bergh going close to going in. It was no real surprise when they went ahead, even if it was an unhappy Youri Nikiforov who put the ball into the net, from one of those corners to give the Domstad side an early advantage in the 4th minute. The visitors were unable to offer much opposition in the 1st half but Yugoslav striker Mateja Kezman proved his worth once more when it mattered with an equalizer in the 34th. The 2nd half saw 4 headers finding the back of the net! The 1st came from Igor Gluscevic who put the home team ahead again in the 50th and Patrick Zwaanswijk added a 3rd in the 57th. PSV fought back and Kezman's pass gave Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink the chance to reduce the gap in the 62nd and Kezman got his 2nd of the evening to even things up in the 81st.

NEC lose to Utrecht 0 - 3

25 Nov 2001

NEC lineup: Gentenaar - Schuurman, Hesp, Wisgerhof, Leiwakabessy - Simr, Wielaert, Latuheru, Ax - Tumba, Jansen Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar - Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart - Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, van Mol, van den Bergh - Gluscevic, Kuyt Utrecht earn a valuable 3 away points to keep them in touch with the top five with this strong performance in Nijmegen which was NEC's 600th professional defeat. Jean-Paul de Jong put away the 1st goal of the afternoon in the 52nd minute (the first Ere Divisie goal NEC have conceded at home since Feyenoortd's 0 - 3 win on September 8th). Stefaan Tanghe scored the 2nd in the 64th and Dave van den Bergh put away the 3rd in the 72nd.

Utrecht want Fin Paulus Roiha

21 Nov 2001

Utrecht have set their eyes on the Finnish striker Paulus Roiha and have apparently already made an offer to his current club HJK Helsinki. The 21 year-old was on loan to Roda last season and has already acquired a reputation for his speed, agility and for being able to play in any forward position. Trainer Frans Adelaar has been looking for some more firepower up front ever since Ruud Berger moved to Cambuur Leeuwarden.

Utrecht smash De Graafschap 6 - 0

18 Nov 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van den Bergh, Gluscevic and Kuyt. De Graafschap lineup: Postma, Bot, Berck Beelenkamp, Vreman, Fränkel, Meerdink, Nok, Van den Brom, Van Leerdam, Turpijn and Schulp. Only Twente have managed to escape the Galgenwaard stadium without losing this season (they managed a 1 - 1 draw) and, after an early period in which the "SuperBoeren" made a good impression (Martijn Meerdink and Dennis Schulp failed in their chances to net), it was Utrecht who hit their latest victims with body-blow goals from Dirk Kuijt in the 6th and Dave van den Bergh in the 16th. Harald Wapenaar made some fine saves to keep the score in Utrecht's favour while De Graafschap's defensive pillars Jan Vreman and Milan Berck Beelenkamp both left injured within theng 30 minutes. After that the visitors caved in completely and Utrecht went on the rampage and overwhelmed the visitors. Kuijt added his 2nd for the 3 - 0 in the 37th, Patrick Zwaanswijk put away the 4th in the 48th and Van den Bergh got his 2nd of the afternoon for the 5 - 0 on the hour.  Tom van Mol added the 6th in the 85th.

Utrecht and Twente draw 1 - 1

04 Nov 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar - Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, van Mol - Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, van den Bergh - Gluscevic, Kuyt Twente lineup: Boschker, Van der Weerden, Pothuizen, Grujic, Polak, Caïro, Van der Doelen, Van der Leegte, Van der Laan, Van de Paar and De Gier. The "Tukkers" were obviously boosted by their hard fought performance against Grasshoppers on Thursday (even if they did exit the UEFA Cup) and their new face Jack de Gier, recently signed from Scottish side Dunfermline, paid back some of his transfer fee with a 1st minute goal. Stijn Vreven's pass gave Dirk Kuijt the chance to equalize in the69th and save Utrecht's unbeaten home record (coincidentally Twente were the last team to win in the Domstad on September 17th 2000).

Parma hold Utrecht to goalless draw

01 Nov 2001

Parma lineup: Frey, Cannavaro, Ferrari, Sartor, Mangone, Lamouchi, Boghossian, Appiah, Falsini,  Bonazzoli and Di Vaio. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Van Mol, De Jong, Bosschaart, Schut, Tanghe, Kuijt and Jochemsen. The Italians went for the 'nul', having beaten Utrecht 1 - 3 in Holland, and it proved a sufficiently 'rewarding' tactic - it gives them a place in the next round of the UEFA Cup while the Domstad side will be disappointed to end their European adventure so soon. Utrecht had early chances through Arco Jochemsen and Dirk Kuijt but failed to put them away while the Italian side showed precious little in return apart from a shot by Canavarro and a last minute chance for substitute Marco Marchionni which hit the post. Stefaan Tanghe and Kuijt had chances late in the match but it ended pretty much as expected in a goalless draw.

Feyenoord beat Utrecht 4 - 0

28 Oct 2001

Feyenoord lineup: Zoetebier, Collen, Van Wonderen, De Haan, Rzasa, Dos Santos, Emerton, Paauwe, Ono, Tomasson and Van Hooijdonk. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Jean-Paul de Jong, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Jochemsen and Kuyt. A strong 2nd half performance from the Rotterdammers, after a weak 1st half, and a hattrick by Pierre van Hooijdonk will help to heal the wounds of the mid-week defeat by Bayern in the C-L. Jan Dahl Tomasson returned from injury and Leonardo dos Santos made his debut on the right. Archo Jochemsen had the best chance of a poorng half for Utrecht but blasted over, while Feyenoord could only manage to create a couple of small chances for Van Hooijdonk and Ono. P-Air'sng goal was one of his specialist freekicks in the 37th. The 2nd half was much better and, after Tomasson shot just wide, Johan Elmander, substituting for Shinji Ono in the 65th, pushed and stumbled through the defence to put away the 2nd goal in the 67th. The Swedish striker missed a couple of other opportunities before P-Air put away his 2nd for the 3 - 0 in the 77th and added his 3rd for the 4 - 0 in the 88th.

Den Bosch and Utrecht draw 1 - 1

21 Oct 2001

Den Bosch lineup: Mampaey, Faerber, Van der Hoorn, Veenhof, Peelen, Mourad, Deckers, Michels, Van den Eede, Maximiano and Van der Laak. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Zwaanswijk, Roest, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Jochemsen, Van Mol, Kuyt and Van den Bergh. Utrecht found it just as difficult to penetrate Den Bosch's defensive wall as all the other 'big name' sides who've visited. It may not be pretty football to watch but it delivers a substantial trickle of points and only 2 defeats so far. Mourad and Van den Eede tested Harald Wapenaar within the first 10 minutes - reminding Utrecht that the home team could be equally dangerous from the counters. Utrecht upped the pressure in search of a goal and Den Bosch had a hard fight on their hands keeping them out, especially after goalie Kris Mampaey left injured and was replaced by Max de Jong. Once Stefaan Tanghe scored for the Domstad side in the 58th minute the visitors left the initiative over to Den Bosch  - a fault which led to them giving away a penalty that Bart van den Eede gratefully put away in the 81st  to save a point for Den Bosch and give them their 6th draw of the season.

Utrecht and Eagles strengthen ties

20 Oct 2001

Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles will be signing a document today which will increase the cooperation that already exists between the Ere Divisie and Eerste Divisie clubs. The deal will mean the exchange of players on loan, a first option to buy players and help with scouting and organisation. The first step in this direction was made a year ago, resulting in the loan of Utrecht's Jordy Zuidam to the Eagles. The Domstad side also have a similar agreement with Cambuur Leuuwarden.

Utrecht lose to Parma 1 - 3

18 Oct 2001

The Domstad team started in confident mood, determined not to be intimidated by the visitors. Dave van den Bergh had a hard, distance shot saved in the 12th minute. Parma began to  start showing flashes of their class, breaking out in counters, and their striker Di Vaio lived up to his reputation in the 21st minute, sliding in the ball past a helpless Wapenaar. He missed an even better chance in the 33rd minute as the Italians took more and more control of the match. Utrecht's only other 1st half threat was when Sander Bosschaart blasted off a shot in the dying seconds of the 1st half. After the break Bonazolli headed in a 2nd for Parma in the 54th and Di Vaio got his 2nd for the 0 - 3 in the 69th. Parma were not even having to get into top gear to get the job done, pouncing on the chances when they arrived with an easy confidence and missing a few others too! Jochemsen finally gave the Utrecht supporters (who delivered full-throated support throughout the match) something to cheer about with a goal in the 76th minute and Arts had a freekick come close to dipping in 5 minutes later as Utrecht rallied for the closing 10 minutes. Bonnazolli missed a perfect chance for the 1 - 4 in injury time before the final whistle. The Domstad team fought hard but ended up confirming the fact that they were simply not in the same class as Parma. Their European adventure, as well as Twente's, looks to be pretty well over.

Utrecht miss Touzani against Parma

17 Oct 2001

Utrecht will face Parma in their UEFA Cup encounter without the help of defender Karim Touzani - the central defender is still suffering from an injury he picked up in the recent match against Heerenveen.

Utrecht beat Willem II 3 - 1

14 Oct 2001

Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Van Mol, Tanghe, De Jong, Bosschaart Gluscevic, Kuyt and Van den Bergh. Willem II lineup: De Vlieger, Jaliens, Van Nieuwstadt, Janssens, Mathijsen, Landzaat, Caluwé, Victoria. Ceesay, Bombarda and Abdellaoui. Utrecht remain unbeaten at home and have yet to concede a point in the Galgenwaard stadium. Their physical form of football doesn't suit the 'Tricolores' preference for a more light-weight attractive, attacking style. The home team's pressure proved too much for the visitors who lost the ball easily and consequently couldn't put the moves together. Patrick Zwaanswijkd the score for the home team in the 33rd minute, heading in from a Patrick Bosschaart freekick. Stijn Vreven's run and subsequent generosity gave Igor Gluscevic the chance to tap in for the 2 - 0 in the 51st. Three minutes later Denny Landzaat slotted away a penalty (nobody seemed to know why the referee awarded it!)  to make it 2 - 1. Gluscevic made certain of the points with his 2nd of the day in the 52nd and the score could have been higher if Dave van den Bergh, Stefaan Tanghe, Mr. Gluscevic, Tom Van Mol and  Dirk Kuijt hadn't missed their moment.

Ruud Berger on loan to Cambuur

12 Oct 2001

Utrecht's Ruud Berger is going on loan to Eerste Divisie Cambuur for the rest of the season. The 21 year-old striker has little chnace of 1st team action in the Domstad and should be making his debut tonight for Leeuwarden in the home match against Excelsior. The Jong Oranje player has been a member of Utrecht's squad since the 1998/1999 season, making 26 Eredivisie goalless appearances.

Heerenveen lose to Utrecht 1 - 2

10 Oct 2001

Heerenveen lineup: Vonk, Venema, Klompe, Gérard de Nooijer, Edman, Talan, Radomski, Jensen, Nurmela, Allbäck and Denneboom. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Van Mol, Jochemsen, Kuyt and Van den Bergh. Utrecht won their first away match of the season and Heerenveen lost their first home match tonight. Heerenveen started off well, Mike Nurmela's pass finding a thankful Romano Denneboom who headed in for the 1 - 0 after 11  minutes of play. As the match progressed Utrecht came into their own, Stefaan Tanghe equalizing in the 35th as both teams put on an entertaining, attacking spectacle for the fans to enjoy. Utrecht were the better side in the 2nd half and debutant Arco Jochemsen celebrated by scoring the match-winner in the 48th. The Domstad side leapfrog Heerenveen in the table to 6th place, the Frieslanders are now 7th.

Utrecht beat RKC 2 - 1

30 Sept 2001

FC Utrecht: Wapenaar, Vreven, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Tanghe, Jean-Paul de Jong, Arts, van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. RKC Waalwijk: Van Dijk, Teixeira, Lamey, Van den Berg, De Graef, Petrovic, Van Diemen, Govedarica, Yuri Cornelisse, Janssen and Hoogendorp. Utrecht remain unbeaten at home in their Galgenwaard stadium - this was their 4th win in a row. They were clearly showing signs of tiredness after their UEFA Cup match against Grazer in Austria, and their fatigue grew visibly the longer the match went on. Nonetheless, Igor Gluscevic put them ahead in the 32nd, Van Diemen equalizing for the Waalwijkers in the 58th minute and Stefan Tanghe got the match-winner for the Domstad team in the 78th.

UEFA 2nd Round draw announced

28 Sept 2001

The draw for the next round of the UEFA Cup has been announced: Ajax meet FC Cagen, Roda meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Twente meet the Swiss team Grasshoppers and Utrecht will have the most difficult task of all as they try to get passed Parma.

Utrecht miss Arts against Grazer

26 Sept 2001

Utrecht will be missing Arno Arts against Grazer AK in Austria tomorrow - the 32 year-old midfileder has gone down with the flu. His place, for the match in the Arnold Scwharzenegger stadium, will probably be taken by Tom van Mol.

AZ beat Utrecht 1 - 0

23 Sept 2001

AZ lineup: Moens, Lee, Opdam, Wijker, Lindenbergh, Boussatta, Kromkamp, van Galen, Buskermolen, Nelisse and Elkhattabi. Utrecht lineup: Wapenaar, Vreven, Roest, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Arts, Tanghe, Van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. A welcome win and 3 points for AZ and their 3rd victory in a row! Robben Nelisse had a terrible afternoon, missing everything that came his way, he even missed a penalty in the 30th which meant that it was substitute Kenneth Perez who shot high and hard, scoring the only goal in the 88th minute from a Barry van Galen pass to give the Alkmaarders the points. Utrecht have had 3 wins in a row at home but this was their 4th consecutive away defeat and they will want to be improving their away performance.

Utrecht beat Grazer AK 3 - 0

20 Sept 2001

Utrecht put in a professional looking performance against a solid Austrian side who threatened primarily with some dangerous counters. The Domstad sided in fighting mood, pushing forward and creating a couple of chances in the first 15 minutes, after which the initial pressure dropped before rising again when a nice move by Kuyt and Tanghe gave Dave van den Bergh the chance to hook in their first goal in the 21st minute. Utrecht kept up a steady flow of solid football, patiently working away and were rewarded for their patience with a 2nd goal, Van den Bergh setting it up, sending in a nice cross which Stefan Tanghe headed smartly in for a 2nd goal in the 34th. Harald Waapenaar was only really tested once in the 1st half but dealt well with the shot. The 2nd half got off to a good start for Utrecht when, after a couple of nice attacking moves, a low cross was slotted home by Gluscevic in the 49th. Grazer's best moment was when Brunmayr sent in a nice free-kick which just went over for in the 70th -from then on the match descended into a scrappy affair. Gluscevic was substituted by Karim Touzani for the dying minutes as Utrecht tried to close down the hatches. Although there was the potential in this match to knock in a few more goals than went on the board, the 3 - 0 result is a good start to the Domstad side's European campaign and will please coach Hans Adelaar no end.

Utrecht miss Berger against Grazer

19 Sept 2001

Utrecht will be missing Ruud Berger against Grazer AK in the Galgenwaard stadium tomorrow - the Dutch youth international has an ankle injury. The injured Etienne Shew-Atjon (thighbone) will also be missing, as will Dennis van de Ree (who's been dropped) in the 18 man squad Frans Adelaar has selected.

Utrecht beat Roda 4 - 1

16 Sept 2001

UEFA Cup teams Utrecht and Roda have had a poor start to the new season, sitting in 17th and 18th place in the table. The visitors suffered a crushing defeat today at the hands of the Domstad team who continue to win on their home turf while having problems away. Roda's defence was a shambles and they're lucky that Utrecht were unable to put away more of the abundant opportunities that came their way. Igor Gluscevic put the home side ahead after 22 minutes and Tomasic equalized for Roda in the 36th. It didn't last long as a quick one-two by Tanghe in the 38th and Gluscevic in the 39th plus a 2nd for Tanghe in the 44th to make it 4 - 1 gave Utrecht a serious advantage to take into the dressing room at the break. Compared to the 1st 45 minutes the 2nd half was a goalless and unentertaining spectacle.

Utrecht beat Groningen 3 - 1

09 Sept 2001

Utrecht have yet to earn themselves a point this season! They lost 1 - 0 at Twente in theirng match, went down 3 - 1 at Sparta and lost 1 - 0 to Vitesse. Groningend with a 2 - 2 home draw against PSV, followed it up with a 1 - 0 win against Willem II and lost 4 - 0 at RKC. Utrecht lined-up: Wapenaar,Vreven, Touzani, Zwaanswijk, Bosschaart, Jean-Paul de Jong, Arts, Tanghe, van den Bergh, Kuyt and Gluscevic. Groningen lined-up: Beukenkamp, Elshot, Allach, Schoenmakers, Johansson, van Gessel, Hugo, Broerse, Visser, Drent and Tuhuteru. Utrecht won their first points of the season not so much because they were so good (their forwards were sloppy and wasted a lot of chances) but because they fought hard for their win. The 1st half was characterised by bad passing and plenty of those missedngs (Tanghe and Gluscevic both missed early on) - Jean-Paul de Jongd the score for the Domstad team in the 12th. Groningen began to wise up to the fact that Utrecht's frontline was off-form and decided to join in the match, Ignacio Tuhuteru equalizing for them in the 32nd. The 2nd half was better entertainment - Utrecht fighting hard but being denied by the good work of goalie Beukenkamp (he dealt alertly with efforts from Van den Bergh and Tanghe). They were finally rewarded for their efforts by a penalty in the 71st minute, after Stijn Vreven was brought down in the area ,giving Dirk Kuyt the chance to make it 2 - 1.  Dave van den Bergh put the result beyond doubt in the 83rd minute providing a much needed confidence booster for Utrecht who have Thursday's UEFA Cup meeting with Grazer AK ahead of them.

Vitesse beat Utrecht 1 - 0

25 Aug 2001

Vitesse had beaten AZ on Wednesday while Utrecht have booked two defeats so far (against NAC and Sparta) but neiether team will want to be reminded of this evening's bleak spectacle. Utrecht looked to have the upperhand in theng stages but Vitesse recovered and Ajax hired-gun Tijani Babangida looked particularly threatening but he unfortunately lacked finesse in terms of passing and finishing while Mustapha Riga on the left was similarly lacking in the same departments. The 1st half will, unfortunately, be remembered more for a couple of fouls (by Van der Schalf on De Jong and Peeters on Vreven) than for any goal-mouth action that occurred. The 2nd half began promisingly but, after chances for Van den Bergh and Gluscevic, it fizzled out and it took an own goal (an unfortunate header) by Patrick Zwaanswijk in the 79th minute to gift Vitesse 3 points this evening.

Grazer AK - Utrecht's UEFA opponent

24 Aug 2001

Utrecht could have drawn a far 'heavier' opponent for theirng match of the cup than Austrian side Grazer AK, who are themselves rather more disappointed with the draw than the Domstad team. They shouldn't be underestimated though - they outrank Sturm Graz in the Austrian league and were the team that knocked out Feyenoord last season in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League. A German style of football is to be expected (surprise, surprise) which Utrecht have had some recent experience of facing during their pre-season preparations. In the UEFA Cup they've also booked past successes against Austrian teams: against Linzer SK in 1987 and in 1991 against Sturm Graz to reach the 2nd Round.

UEFA Cup First Round Draw

24 Aug 2001

The draw for the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup has been announced: Roda JC will play Fylkir, Utrecht will play Grazer AK, Ajax will play Apollon Limassol and Twente will play away to Polonia Warsaw. The first leg matches are on September 13th and the second leg matches will be on September 27th.

NAC beat Utrecht 1 - 0

19 Aug 2001

The first 'Avondje NAC' of this season had a happy ending for the home team who held their own against the no.5s of last season. It began to look as if it would end in a well-earned draw, and Henk ten Cate was on the point of substituting Glen Salmon, when the South African scored the match-winner in the 73rd minute for which the Domstad team had no reply.

Utrecht sign Australian Tsiorlas

13 Aug 2001

Utrecht have signed Australian Mark Tsiorlas on a contract for one year. He came to the Domstad side's attention during a match between their reserve team and Telstar Stormvogels Combinatie's where the 18 year-old was on trial. The striker travels on both a Greek and an Australian passport and is often compared to Leeds United's Mark Viduka.

Utrecht draw with Cambuur

05 Aug 2001

Utrecht only managed a 1 - 1 draw in their friendly against First Division side Cambuur Leuuwaarden. Both goals came from spot-shots, Dirk Kuyt put one away for the Domstad team and new signing Dirk-Jan Derksen did the same for the Frieslanders.

Utrecht's Oliseh on hire to FC Jokerit

03 Aug 2001

Utrecht are loaning Azubuike 'Bike' Oliseh ( brother of former Ajacied Sunbday Oliseh) to FC Jokerit until October (where he'll find Dutchman Jan Everse is trainer). He's been demoted a couple of times to the reserves by Frans Adelaar for a lack of motivation but could see UEFA  Cup action with the Finnish side who are playing in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.

Stijn Vreven extends contract with Utrecht

17 July 2001

Despite interest from several English clubs, Utrecht's technical director Hans Berger has managed to persuade Belgian defender Stijn Vreven to extend his contract with the Domstad side till 2005.

Utrecht go down 0 - 5 to Hansa Rostock

15 July 2001

Utrecht were totally outclassed by Hansa Rostock in Germany with a 0 - 5 final score and, to makes things worse, Stefan Tanghe was sent off after only 30 minutes of play.

Utrecht win friendly

11 July 2001

The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and all Premier Division sides won their matches:Utrecht beat a regional team Vleuten/De Meern 0 - 16 including goals by Van den Bergh, Kuyt (4), Van de Berg (3), Gluscevic, Van Mol, De Groot, and Touzani.

Ajax, AZ and Utrecht win practice matches

Return to Utrecht for Robert Roest

05 July 2001

The former Utrecht defender Robert Roest is returning to his old club after becoming too expensive for troubled Fortuna Sittard. The 32 year-old has signed a contract for one year with an option on a second with the Domstad side.

Van der Gaag signs for CS Marítimo

02 July 2001

As we reported earlier, Utrecht's Mitchell van der Gaag was set to move to Portugese club CS Marítimo and we can now tell you that he's signed  a contract for two years, with an option on a third.

Jochemsen and Ponk sign for Utrecht

30 June 2001

Arco Jochemsen is leaving Feyenoord for Utrecht after failing to get into the 1st team in the Kuip after arriving transfer free from Vitesse at the beginning of last season - the 30 year-old defender has signed for two years. The Domstad side have also added Dordrecht 90's goalkeeper René Ponk to their squad. Ponk came originally from FC Utrecht before moving to Spanish side Compostela in 1997, returning last year to Holland - it's expected he'll be 2nd choice after no.1 keeper Harald Wapenaar.

Utrecht's Reinier Robbemond moves to AZ

14 June 2001

Utrecht's Reinier Robbemond is moving to Alkmaar after signing a contract with AZ. The 29 year-old midfielder has had 5 years in the 'Domstad' and wants a new challenge (despite the fact that his old club will be playing European football next season).

Van der Gaag off to CS Marítimo

09 June 2001

Mitchell van der Gaag is on the point of departing Utrecht, where Patrick Zwaanswijk and Karim Touzani have kept him out of the 1st team during the last year, for Portugese side CS Marítimo. The 29 year-old defender will be able to play UEFA Cup football next season with his new club (no.11 in the league) who have qualified by reaching the final of the Portugese Cup where they meet FC Porto on Sunday.

Scharrenburg and Koruglu leave Utrecht

07 June 2001

Midfielder Dennis Scharrenburg, on loan to Cambuur Leeuwaarden last season, is leaving Utrecht for German side Rot Weiss Erfurt. The club's reserve keeper Atam Koruglu is also departing (transfer free) for TOP Oss with whom he's signed up for 2 years. Utrecht are looking to bring back John Achterberg (currently playing for English side Tranmere Rovers) to replace him - he played for the club in the past but had to play second fiddle to "Mr.Utrecht" Jan Willem van Ede.